Truth Be Told: A Blog by Pastor Bill Alderson

  "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit , He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit . You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit , for apart from Me you can do nothing . If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you . My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit , and so prove to be My disciples” John 15:1-8   When Jesus says that “ I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser ”, He was laying...

In John 3, Jesus introduces the concept of being born from above with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Most modern English translations of the Bible translate John 3:7 as, “ you must be born again ” in reference to the new birth of a believer. The Greek word translated “again” is “ anoethen ” and its basic meaning is from above or from a higher place. Of the thirteen times it appears in Scripture, John 3:3 and 7 are the only times when it is translated “again” rather than “from above”. It is my conviction that Jesus was referring to a birth that only could come from heaven and not earth and His intention was to emphasize this fact. The new birth is the result of the Spirit of God coming into a person’s life and establishing a spiritual life in the midst of the natural life. Nicodemus’ question to Jesus in verse 4 indicates that he did not understand what Jesus was saying, so Jesus explained it further. In verse 5, Jesus clarifies the issue for Nicodemus by qualifying that the natural birt...